Hatsu Hioki and Bart Palaszewski to meet at UFC 144 in Japan

Hatsu Hioki (25-4-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will get to compete on home soil, and the Japanese fighter is expected to meet fellow featherweight Bart Palaszewski (36-14 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at February’s UFC 144 card.

Sources close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) verbal agreements are in place for the fight. MMAWeekly.com first reported the bout.

UFC 144 takes place Feb. 26 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

UFC 144’s main card is expected to air on pay-per-view, it’s not clear if Hioki vs. Palaszewski will be part of the broadcast.

Hioki, a former Shooto and World Victory Road/Sengoku champion, made his highly anticipated UFC debut this past month at UFC 137. He got a win, but scrappy opponent George Roop earned more praise despite his split-decision defeat. Although considered a possible immediate challenger to Jose Aldo’s UFC belt, Hioki needs a convincing performance to prove he deserves a shot to the title.

He’ll go for his sixth straight win (and look to build on a 13-1-1 run) when he meets Palaszewski, who recently made an impressive octagon debut with a “KO of the Night” victory over Tyson Griffin at UFC 137. Palaszewski, a former IFL and WEC fighter, dropped from lightweight to featherweight for the fight, which moved him to 5-1 over his past six fights.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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